As you’re getting used to Linux (potentially as your new main operating system), you’ll eventually try to find a way to efficiently manage your music. iTunes comes to mind because it’s been the most popular way to manage music over the years, but you’ll quickly find out that iTunes isn’t available natively on Linux. Plus, better ways exist to manage your music now that it’s 2015.

However, that doesn’t automatically mean that you won’t be able to manage your music the way you want to. There’s plenty of other ways to keep tabs on your music library. Here’s six great ways to get it done.

Each version of iTunes can give you different results, but the general process is as follows:

Install WINE

Run the iTunes installer via WINE

Google and try to solve any problems you come across.

Again, you might come across issues somewhere along the way which cannot be solved, such as the installer failing or the installed application refusing to run. That’s just how it is with WINE.

If you really want to use iTunes and you happen to luck out with WINE, then that’s great. However, if you’d rather use a native Linux application or WINE didn’t work for you, then there are options here as well. Several “music library manager” programs are available to give you a quick oversight of your music and play it directly in the application, as well as make playlists.

They all are excellent at managing and playing your music. The only downside to all of these is that there is no iOS device integration, and there’s currently no modern application that can do that. However, iOS has received enough improvements that it’s virtually unnecessary to connect it to a computer anymore.

Lastly, if none of those applications satisfy your needs, you can take a look at Google Play Music. This online service acts as a music library manager that can play your music, but it also has some extra benefits. You can upload all your music to it and have access on any device connected to the Internet. That also means that you won’t have to sync your music between your computer and your mobile device (no matter if Android or iOS) because you have access to Google Play Music from both. If you want to expand your library you can get the All Access subscription, but it’s not a requirement. You can use it simply as a music library completely free for up to 20,000 songs.

Wot, no Spotify?!

The only reason why I don’t mention Spotify is that, although it’s also a great way to access and listen to music, it doesn’t really let you manage your own music. You can’t upload trakcs to Spotify — you have to listen to what they give you. Albeit they give you a lot, but it’s nonetheless a different mechanism.

You Have Options

With these six options, you should be able to get iTunes-like functionality on your desktop. These options focused mainly on managing and playing your music library, but if there are any other features that you need from iTunes, other Linux-native applications can take care of those needs.

What music applications do you regularly use on Linux? Let us know in the comments!

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WhoGivesADuck

August 30, 2018 at 9:22 am

Sadly, those are terrible alternatives.

Noise, aka "Music" from elementary OS is the only music player that gets close to iTunes. It should be on top of that list !
It can be installed on Ubuntu and Debian quite easily using Elementary's PPA.

I have a dual boot and sometimes I am able to play my itunes library (installed on my windows partition) from a program in Linux. The trouble is it doesn't see the albums as collections so you can only do one song at a time.

amazing that Guayadeque is not mentioned here, it does as much as any of these apps and is very light on resource usage. it's got a pretty ugly logo, but it's the power user's choice for sure, with it's many features, options and configs.

I had hoped this would be an article about how to get the iTunes client working under Wine or Crossover Office. The one major problem with all these Linux-native apps is that you can't use them to buy from the iTunes store. That requires the actual iTunes application itself, because Apple doesn't 1: let you buy media through their website or 2: make an Android client. Mind you, the only reason I was even concerned about using iTunes at all was because I got a $50 itunes gift card for my birthday, with no way to use it. Eventually my option was to install it on the Win10 tech preview I'm evaluating (need to keep familiar with it, even if I don't use it for myself). I've bought all of *one* album with it.

Logitech Media Server (aka Squeezebox). Access to your local collection plus Spotify, Pandora, Google Play, etc. Some of these outside sources depend on third-party plugins that can be buggy, however. Can be used with Squeezebox hardware, but software can make nearly any computer a virtual Squeezebox, as well as Android phones and tablets. (Sorry, I don't know about other mobile platforms.) A great basis for a whole house music system.

What about using Linux to update an actual iPod? I've been using gPodder to download podcasts and gtkPod to sync them with an old iPod mini. Both work - both are confusing as hell, and not all that reliable. I know Amarok claims to have ipod and podcast integration, but it does it via addons - which are confusing in the way only the best KDE apps can be (and I'm a KDE user). In any case, I've never been able to get Amarok to do the job.

No mention of mpd? We use mpd as a server and ario as a client. On our phones, mpdroid. It's networked, is easy to set up and there's a command line client I use to bind my multimedia keys to control the server over the network using a python script. It also has the advantage of (with mpdroid running) when I get a phone call, the music pauses.

I use Clementine as local native app in ubuntu but I have started to use "Amazon Music" more. While you cannot download complete album in one hit on Linux it does let you song by song. Downside will not let you upload if you run Linux os. I use this as most albums on cd purchsed through Amazon have a mp3 copy stored in Amazon Music for free. It also will recognise your locally stored music and make it available through Amazon Music player. I use it on desktop via Ffox and or Chrome and on android via application.

My choice is Google Play--and I'm still on my Mac. I moved all my music over--even protected music, apparently, is accessible. I guess Google knows the album and track name, and just plays something from their own collection. I pay $7 a month and get access to everything on Play, and I have it on all my devices, regardless of OS, etc. I suppose the downside is that I need a data connection, but so far, this has never been a problem. The upside is that my 16gb phone has no music stored on it, which leaves space for other, more important things. Since moving my files to Play Music, I almost never launch iTunes any more. (I have Play Music extensions for Chrome that I use to listen on my Mac.)